In an overnight email to subscribers and blog post, Netflix announced that it would spin off its rental DVD-by-mail business into a new business called Qwikster, while Netflix would remain streaming-only. The two businesses will be separate, the two sites will be separate, and the bottom line is that DVD subscribers will have to visit another site to manage their queues and pay their bills.

Netflix itself will continue to offer and handle streaming video on all of the currently-supported platforms, so subscribers will notice little to no change there. How DVD subscribers will be migrated to the new Qwikster remains to be seen. Some details are clear however: Qwikster will be completely separate from Netflix, meaning personal and payment information, DVD and series ratings, and your queue, will be entirely separate. If you look up an item via Netflix streaming and find it's unavailable, you'll have to log in to Qwikster to search for it there, add it to your queue there, and have it shipped to you. Qwikster will also offer video game rentals in addition to DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

Netflix's CEO posted the note to the Netflix official blog this morning, along with a video where he apologized for the issues around Netflix's recent price hike. He doesn't backtrack on the price increase, but he says that the company should have explained it better to customers and better communicated their intentions. He also explained that he felt that Netflix would be best prepared to serve its customers by completely separating their streaming and DVD businesses-something the company has done internally already.

Additional details haven't been announced yet, but current Netflix DVD subscribers are likely in for some major adjustments in the coming weeks and months. Streaming-only subscribers likely won't feel the pinch quite as badly. Were you one of the 1-million people who unsubscribed after the price hikes? Are you a DVD customer now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.